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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



Hollinger Corp. 



Calendar No. 837. 

62d Congress, ) SENATE. ( Report 

M Session. \ | No. 944. 



\ 317 
)2 U6 
>py 1 LUTHER BURBANK. 






July 18, 1912. — Ordered to be printed. 



Mr. Works, from the Committee on Public Lands, submitted the 

following 

REPORT. 

[To accompany H. R. 23043.] 

The Committee on Public Lands, to which was referred the bill 
(H. R. 23043) to patent certain semiarid lands to Luther Burbank 
under certain conditions, having given the same careful consideration, 
beg leave to report the bill back to the Senate with the recommenda- 
tion that it do pass. 

The bill was referred to the Secretary of the Interior and he sub- 
mitted the following report in reference thereto : 

Department of the Interior, 

Washington, July 6, 1912. 
Hon. Reed Smoot, 

Chairman Committee on Public Lands, United States Senate. 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of yoiir request for a report on H. R. 
23043, a bill to patent certain semiarid lands to Luther Burbank under certain con- 
ditions. 

This bill is substantially the same as H. R. 20477, except that there are incorporated 
therein certain provisions suggested by the department in a report on the last-named 
bill, and certain amendments suggested by the House Committee on the Public Lands, 
the changes being intended to insure that lands valuable for other purposes be not 
patented under the proposed legislation; to the same effect is the provision that Mr. 
Burbank must show 100,000 cactus plants growing on the kind for two years instead of 
one, as in the original bill. On the other hand, he is given the option to select his 
land in California, Arizona, New Mexico, or Nevada, whereas in the original bill he 
was limited to the two States first named . 

The department on March 29, 1912, submitted to the House Committee on the 
Public Lands a report on H. R. 20477, in which it was said: 

"It is proposed by this bill to set aside public lands (not exceeding 12 sections in 
all) in California or Arizona, in order to afford Mr. Luther Burbank an opportunity 
to propagate thereon spineless and edible cacti. It is proposed that patent to these 
lands shall issue to Mr. Burbank or his successors in interest provided the Government 
price of the land be paid within five years after selection of the various tracts, and 
provided further that no patent shall issue until Burbank, or his successors, shall 
have at least 100,000 growing plants of said cacti upon the lands or some part thereof 
for the period of one year. 

"Under the proviso to section 2, the lands which may be secured under this bill 
must be semiarid and unsuitable for agricultural purposes under present methods of 



2 LUTHER BURBANK. ^ X> ^^ 

agriculture, and no tract shall be set aside under the provisions of the bill until the 
Commissioner of the General Land Office shall have certified to its character as 
indicated. 

"The department is, of course, acquainted in a general way with the most valuable 
services of Mr. Burbank and the numerous benefits he has conferred upon the people 
by his discoveries in arboriculture and horticulture. 

"The department has not sufficient information on the subject to enable it to deter- 
mine or to express an opinion as to whether the area named in the bill is a proper one 
to be allowed Mr. Burbank for his development work. The bill as drawn also com- 
pels the department to patent the land selected by Mr. Burbank from the unappro- 
priated and unreserved lands in California or Arizona, provided it is semiarid and un- 
suited for agricultural purposes under present methods of agriculture. There is a 
great quantity of land of this character which will in all probability not be taken up 
for homestead entries for a great many years to come, but it may have a value for other 
than agricultural purposes, and there may be reasons why the particular area selected 
by Mr. Burbank should not be granted to him. *■ * * if amended in the manner 
suggested the department would offer no objection to the proposed legislation." 
Respectfully, 

Samuel Adams, Acting Secretary. 

The Committee on the Pubhc Lands of the House submitted the 
following report in relation to this bill: 

[House Report No. 821, Sixty-second Congress, second session.] 

The Committee on the Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 23043) 
to patent certain semiarid lands to Luther Burbank, of Santa Rosa, Cal., under certain 
conditions, having had the same under consideration, unanimously recommend that 
the bill be amended as follows: 

On page 1, line 4, after the word "unappropriated," add a comma. 

On the same line, after the word "nonmineral," strike out the word "and" and 
insert "nontimber." On the same line, after the word "nonirrigable," insert the 
word "and." 

On page 1, line 5, before the word "land," insert the word "public." 

On page 1, line 13, strike out the words "from the United States." 

On page 2, at the end of line 10, after the word "years" and before the colon, insert 
the following: "and until it has been shown to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the 
Interior that the lands to be patented are suitable for the growth of spineless cacti 
valuable for domestic animal food." 

On page 2, in line 12, strike out the words "and that" after the word "Interior" 
and insert the word "when." 

On page 2, in line 13, strike out the words "as to the" before the word "semiarid" 
and insert the following words: "to the Secretary of the Interior is." 

On page 2, in line 14, after the word "nonirrigable," insert the words "non tim- 
bered, unreserved," and strike out the words "the character of said land" in lines 
14 and 15. 

And as thus amended the committee unanimously recommend that the bill do pass. 

There seems to be no doubt that Luther Burbank, of Santa Rosa, Cal., has propa- 
gated a spineless cactus or cacti most valuable for forage, which if properly intro- 
duced may revolutionize the agricultural conditions in many of the seimarid and 
arid regions of the southwestern part of the United States. 

The bill under consideration is intended to encourage Mr. Burbank, or those whom 
he may associate with him, to experiment with these cacti in the States of California, 
New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada, in order that it may be demonstrated whether 
these cacti can be so grown as to be of great commercial importance to those regions, 
which Mr. Burbank claims. 

In order to encourage these experimentations, it is proposed to permit Mr. Burbank, 
after it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Interior that said 
cacti can be thus commercially and profitably prepared, to purchase the amount of 
land as stated in the bill at the usual price oi' $1.25 per acre, if without the railroad 
limits, and |2.50 per acre if within said limits. At the present time the lands in 
question are without any commercial value. It should also be stated that Mr. Bur- 
bank is now propagating these cacti, and selling the same to all comers at a reasonable 
price, but these plants are going into sections of California chiefly where their growth 
and propagation is not attended with any great expense or uncertainty. It is the view 
of the committee that it is most desirable to encourage these experimentations in the 
parts of the arid and semiarid Southwest which are at this time practically deserts 



LUTHER BUEBANK. 3 

and now await development. If this encouragement demonstrates that these sections 
are suitable for the production of these cacti, the beneficial results will be of incal- 
culable value to the Nation. 

The bill H. R. 23043 is in lieu of H. R. 20477. 

The following is the report of the Secretary of the Interior upon the bill in question: 

Department of the Interior, 

Washington, March 29, 1912. 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your request for a report on H. R. 
20477, a bill to patent certain semiarid lands to Luther Bm-bank under cej"tain con- 
ditions. 

It is proposed by this bill to set aside public lands (not exceeding 12 sections in all), 
in California or Arizona, in order to afford Mr. Luther Burbank an opportunity to 
propagate thereon spineless and edible cacti. It is proposed that patent to these 
lands shall issue to Mr. Burbank, or his successors in interest, provided the Govern- 
ment price of the land be paid within five years after selection of the various tracts, 
and provided further, that no patent shall issue until Burbank, or his successors, shall 
have had at least 100,000 growing plants of said cacti upon the lands or some part 
thereof for the period of one year. 

Under the proviso to section 2, the lands which may be secured under this bill must 
be semiarid and unsuitable for agricultural purposes under present methods of agricul- 
ture, and no tract shall be set aside under the provisions of the bill until the Commis- 
sioner of the General Land Office shall have certified to its character as indicated. 

The department is, oi course, acquainted in a general way with the most valuable 
services of Mr. Burbank, and the numerous benefits he has conferred upon the people 
by his discoveries in arboriculture and horticulture. 

The department has not sufficient information on the subject to enable it to deter- 
mine or to express an opinion as to whether the area named in the bill is a proper one 
to be allowed Mr. Biu-bank for his development work. The bill as drawn also compels 
the department to patent the land selected by Mr. Burbank from the unappropriated 
and reserved lands in California or Arizona, provided it is semiarid and unsuited for 
agricultural purposes under present methods of agriculture. There is a great quantity 
of land of this character which will in all probability not be taken up for homestead 
entries for a great many years to come, but it may have a value for other than agi-icul- 
tural purposes, and there may be reasons why the particular area selected by Mr. 
Burbank should not be granted to him. While I have no doubt that he would desire 
to cooperate in every proper way with the department, it would seem wise to modify 
the final provision in the hill to read as follows: 

'^Provided fu>ther. That the land selected sliall be approved by the Secretary of the 
Interior, and that the Commissioner of the General Land Office shall certify," etc. 

If amended in the manner suggested the department would offer no objection to 
the proposed legislation. 

Respectfidly, Walter L. Fisher, Secretary. 

Hon. Joseph T. Robinson, 

Chairman Committee on the Public Lands, House of Representatives. 

The committee calls special attention to the speech delivered by Congressman 
Hayes on spineless cacti grown at Santa Rosa, Cal., as to its food properties and as 
to its merits. 

The data concerning this cactus can be found in this speech on page 2884 of the 
Congressional Record of March 2, 1912. 

In this connection the committee quotes from "Plant Breeding,'' by Hugo De Vries, 
page 228, as follows: 

"The spineless edible cactus combines, in the same way, the main character of its 
spineless parent with the excellent qualities of the ordinary cultivated varieties. It 
has excellent fruit of a new flavor which may be eaten fresh or cooked. As food for 
cattle the stems are very rich; they are estimated to be at least one-half as nutritious 
as alfalfa (Lucerne clover). The production of this variety started from five species 
of Opuntia imported from different countries, the names of some of them being un- 
known at the time. Amoiiig them was a spineless but small and insignificant sp6cies 
from Central America. These he has crossed and recrossed with the cultivated 
varieties, selecting for vigorous growth and superior pod-bearing qualities. A number 
of European and African varieties of Indian figs were sent to him and the Opuntia 
vulgaris, 0. engelmanniy and other hardy types were mixed with them. The beds, 
which I saw in 1906, showed hundreds of specimens which had been planted in the 
spring and had already produced a first set of numerous disk-like branches. They were 
expected to make two or three more sets in the same year and to fill in the large spaces 



4 LLTTHEE BURBANK. 

which were left between them at the time of their phinting. They varied in size, 
form, and color of the pods, and probably, also, in their nutritious qualities, and were 
grown as a direct test of these points. The value of these hundreds of plants which 
will on the average produce 50 pods each in a year, may be deducted from the fact 
that he had sold five of the pods to an Australian firm and was building a new and 
larger residence from the sum they had brought him. 

" It would, of course, add highly to the value of this race if it could be made constant 
from seed. It is evident that a rapid spreading, as well as the treatment on the farms, 
would be made more easy by such a change. I saw numerous seed boxes with small 
seedlings, but almost all of them were spiny. Thousands were rejected, and only 
those which .showed a distinct diminution of their spines were selected and planted 
out. Large beds with young spineless plants were seen in his garden. Burbank 
estimates, from the present extension of uncultivated lands fit for the prodv lion of 
cacti, that his spineless and edible varieties may, in time, double the popul; lion of 
the earth. At least they promise to do more for the world in a material way tl ; n any 
other of his productions, but much work will still be required before even an essential 
part of his hopes can be brought into execution." 

We refer to what Mr. Harwood has to say on the spineless edible cactus in his work, 
New Creations in Plant Life: 

"the thornless edible cactus. 

"The problems that confront Mr. Burbank in his work are many and sometimes of 
great difficulty. One plant may present a simple nature and a comparatively short 
life history. Another may be exceedingly complex in nature and of great age. The 
first he finds easy of manipulation, the second often very difficult. The plants with 
millions of years back of them, which may be traced in the very rocks themselves, 
are likely to prove stubborn, to persist in their old habits; or, if they at first appear 
to yield, to returs to these old habits at a later day. 

"He has found this particularly true of the cactus, in the changing of which he has 
accomplished one of his most wonderful achievements. For years he had the cactus 
under consideration. It had long seemed to him that it should be taken out of its 
environment and set forward among the helps instead of the hindrances of the race. 
Sometimes he comes instantly to a conclusion, seeing immediately the bearing of 
things and setting out upon a certain course, fortified at all points. Sometimes, as 
in the regeneration of the cactus, he is met with grave problems which demand pro- 
found study. 

"Wlien he turned to the cactus, on which he was to spend more than 10 years of 
study, it was, in the main, a stubborn, irreconciliable foe to the race; in order to 
make it a friend of man its whole nature must be changed; it must be re-created. 
To the average man it would seem a waste of time and energy to seek to improve a 
plant which for millions of years had been hostile to the race, which seemed to have 
absolutely nothing in common with civilization, which by its pariah-like nature 
seemed particularly fitted for a home upon the desert, its closest comrades the rattle- 
snake and the scorpion, its highest aim apparently to cause the death of some thirst- 
maddened animal driven to eat its juicy but deadly leaves. 

"But the more difficult the problem the keener his desire to solve it. He knew that 
the cactus, even in its wild and defiant shape, had certain unquestioned excellencies. 
It was undeniably hardy; it would grow and thrive where nothing else would, wel- 
coming the blistering heat of the desert and growing powerful where rain seldom falls. 
It had much that was nutritious, both in its thick thalli, or leaves, and in its golden 
or crimson fruit. Wherever it had been given a chance away from its desert home 
and under favorable conditions it had shown phenomenal thrift. It was not one of 
those plants which will not bear transplanting from a wild to a civilized state. 

"Two main obstacles had first to be removed — the countless thorns upon the cactus, 
covering branches and leaves and fruit, and the spicules of the leaves, the woody 
fibrous skeletons of the thalli which made them more or less indigestible. These over- 
come, there remained the development of the fruit and the fitting of the leaves to be 
a food — food even for man as well as beast. 

"All this he has accomplished ; nothing more marvelous has ever been done in plant 
life. It would be exceedingly difficult to say which one of Mr. Burbank's creations is 
the most valuable to the world from a practical point of view, which one adds most to 
the wealth of nations. But probably no other creation has su.passed this one, for it 
provides for the sustenance of the race, food for man and food for beast; it utilizes the 
vast desert areas of the world without the intervention of irrigation, though irrigation 
will aid here as well as elsewhere; it converts enormous leaches of semiarable land 
in all zones to profitable husbandry. 



LUTHER BURBANK. O 

" It has long been known that there were certain kinds of cactus growths having few, 
if any, thorns, and certain ones the fruit of which the natives of some countries con- 
sidered edible. It sometimes happens in Mr. Burbank's work that the essential 
thing is to combine excellent attributes and eliminate bad ones lather than to create 
a wholly new plant. And so it was in the case of the cactus. And yet, in one sense, 
the cactus he has produced is absolutely new, because no other cactus has ever com- 
bined so many excellencies, devoid of obnoxious elements — he has bred out the bad 
and bred in the good. It is quite like the touch of a great poet who finds the prosy 
story of a Hamlet or a Lear and leaves it a masterpiece. 

" Out of some 20 genera of cacti recognized by naturalists, only 5 occur in the 
United States, but these are among the most varied of all in their species, so that the 
1,000 known varieties of cactus are nearly all restricted to America. It is upon one of 
these five, common to the United States, the Opuntia, that Mr. Burbank has worked 
as a basis. It is of the variety having flat, thick leaves, though sometimes inclined 
to be cylindrical. It is a native of Mexico and South America. In their natural 
state the flowers are very striking, some of them red, others purple, others yellow. 
One of the species of the Opuntia is cultivated in Mexico as a host for the cochineal 
insect. The insect thrives upon its leaves, is killed at the proper time and dried, and 
from it is produced the brilliant carmine color so useful in commerce. The juice of 
the fruit is sometimes used as a watei color for painting and for coloring confectionery. 
Along the shores of the Mediterranean are several species, of the Opuntia, the fruit of 
one of which is called the Indian fig and is much liked. 

"One of the Opuntias is hardy even in Alaska and in other similar climates, a charac- 
teristic which has had an important bearing on the work. This cactus was called in 
also, for the scheme laid out contemplated not only a cactus without thorns and 
spicules and preeminently a food, but one which should be adapted to the Arctics as 
well as the Tropics, one, as Mr. IBurbank puts it, which will grow anywhere where 
man can live from the soil. Other varieties were also chosen, one for one character- 
istic, one for another, but all essential in the building up of an ideal plant. 

"Seeds were secured from all the different varieties needed and planted by the 
thousands in beds e.specially prepared. The plants were in rows a few inches apart, 
from two to ten thousand plants in a bed. Extensive crossings were made by pollina- 
tion as soon as the blossoms came, this being followed up for several seasons. The 
object of this crossing or hybridization was to break up radically, once and forever, 
the habits fastened upon the plants for perhaps millions of years. Seeds from these 
new plants were then planted. So persistent is the cactus in its habits that thousands 
of new seedings showed no tendency toward improvement. Indeed, many of them, 
as if in very defiance of man, bore uglier thorns than any of their ancestors. Many 
of them were a mass of woody fiber. But some very few showed that a profound 
change was coming over their lives. This was indicated by a notable lessening of 
their spines, thorns, and bristles. All such plants were isolated for further crossing 
and selection. Tests were going on all the while also to ascertain whether or not any 
plants were losing their spicules. Such as were found improving in this direction 
were also isolated. And so for every excellence desired there was the sharpest scru- 
tiny and aho for every bad feature — it was a daily battle for the best. At last, when 
10 years had gone by. the end of all this preliminary breeding and crossing and select- 
ing came, and along.dde the white picket fence which surrounds the home of Mr. 
Burbank rose a giant cactus, fully 8 feet in height, bearing thalli or leaves from 10 
inches to a foot in length, 5 to 8 inches in width, nearly an inch in thickne.ss, bearing 
fruit of large size, not a thorn upon it, not a spicule in all its rich meat — ^the bitter 
enemy of the desert converted into an abiding friend of man. 

"In creating this edible thornless cactus Mr. Burbank took into account a thousand 
and one things which may find no mention here, but one of them which may be iioted 
shows how persistently practical is all his work. It takes much of the vital forces of 
the cactus to make its powerfully constructed thorns and to supply its thalli with 
spicules. In breeding these away from it he gives to nature the opportunity to devote 
all her energies to the production of food and fruit, and this will have a most important 
bearing on the future; he has not only transformed the cactus as to its product, but has, 
in removing these thorns and spicules, provided a means for vastly increasing this 
product. 

"The fruit of the new cactus is in shape quite like a fat cucumber slightly flattened 
at both ends. It is about 2\ inches in diameter by 3^ inches long. Sometimes it is 
a beautiful yellow in color, while in the fruit from another plant the flesh is crimson. 
It is delicious to the taste. To some it has the flavor of a peach, to some a melon, 
to some the suggestion of a pineapple, to some a blackberry — to everyone who tastes 
it a different flavor from anything before eaten. It is, indeed, a new taste for the palate 
of the world. It may be eaten fresh or cooked, or it may be preserved. The thalli, 



b LUTHER BUEBANK. 

too, have a peculiarly attractive flavor when cooked, and may be eaten in a variety 
of ways, or they may be put up as ginger or melon rinds are preserved. As a food 
for cattle the thalli are peculiarly rich, at least one-half as nutritious as alfalfa, and 
they will produce the finest beef, mutton, and pork. 

"It is quite significant, it may be said in passing, that at a time when industrious 
explorers of the United States Government were scouring the desert places of the 
earth in search of a thornless cactus which they thought might be introduced into the 
arid regions of America, finding at last in Algeria a prickly pear almost spineless, 
Mr. Burbank has been for years cultivating tens of thousands of cacti upon his proving 
grounds, thousands of them at that very time practically thornless and spiculeless, and 
all marching forward under his direction to produce a cactus which should not only 
have none of these undesirable things, but which should have many others of distinct 
value to man. 

"An indication of the wonderful growing powers of the new cactus is seen in the 
fact that in three years' time a single plant from seed produces 600 pounds of food. 
. "Another and most important feature of the new cactus is that it has begun to breed 
true to type from the seed, while it, however, invariably persists from cuttings of the 
leaves. The cactus, as well as all other plants, stubborn or pliable, persists when 
once it has been definitely fixed in its new ways. Just as the cactus through all ages 
has persisted in bearing tlaorns and persisted in filling its thalli with spicules, just so 
it will persist in getting along without them when once it has been fully broken of 
the habit of bearing them. So the new cactus begins a new era in its family, an era 
of unexampled prosperity, and the era of good will and not enmity to man. 

"The possibilities of the new cactus have an enormous scope. The desert land on 
the globe is estimated to be 2,700,000,000 acres, an area 6,000 square miles larger 
than the area of the United States, inclusive of its insular possessions. All this, save, 
perhaps, in some case where absolutely no rain falls, may be reclaimed for food for 
man and beast if needs be. The regions known as steppes, much of which is semi- 
arable, are estimated at nearly 9,000,000,000 square miles additional, practically all 
of which may be utilized for the new cactus. The fertile regions of the globe are 
consideiably larger than both these regions, some 29,000,000 square miles, over 
16,000,000,000 acres. On every foot of fertile soil the cactus will grow with still 
greater rapidity than in the desert, for it takes on a new and powerful impulse under 
cultivation. 

" These figures give something of the possibilities. In Mr. Burbank's own words: 

" ' The population of the globe may be doubled, and yet in the immediate food of the 
cactus plant itself and in the food animals which may be raised upon it there would 
be still enough for all.' 

" The new cactus will not be raised to sell. It is not at this time fully ready, for 
while the main end has been reached, other work in it must be done before it begins 
its career. As soon as it is finished any man with a few feet of earth in a corner of 
some city back yard, any man with a garden in the country, any man with acres 
which have lost their fertility, or with large areas on mountain or desert which have 
been long abandoned, may become a sharer in the fruits of this act. For here, as in 
all that he has ever done, the supreme purpose of his life looms up, colossal in its 
contrast with the mean selfishness of man: He has done all for the advancement of 
this race. 

" The fearsome, dreaded foe of the race has been conquered; the times of little rain 
are set at naught; the great flame-hearted sun itself, burning its mighty way across the 
blistering desert, is defied; the whole desert and arable regions of the globe by the act 
of one man may become a limitless reservoir of food." 

David Starr Jordan, of the Stanford University of California, in speaking of the great 
work of Luther Burbank, and especially that relating to the spineless cacti for stock 
feeding, makes the following important observation: 

" In developing a spineless cactus for stock feeding, selections were made from the 
three hard northern species, OpunHa rafinesquii, 0. mesacantka, and (>. vulgaris, 
the latter the common prickly pear; these were crossed with 0. tuna of Southern 
California, ficus indica, from Alba, Spain, and with a small opuntia from Central 
America, almost thornless. 

" The cactus of all species have smooth cotyledons, but the first bud is covered with 
thorns. These thorns have also been eliminated by selecting the smoothest indi- 
vidual seedlings without crossing. Crossing in this case generally interrupts the 
process, as it brings out well-fixed ancestral traits, but later to combine the best 
qualities of several species, crossing and selection must be resorted to. Examples 
seen were shoots of the original stock, prickly; the second generation, slightly prickly; 
the third without thorns; and later the spicules even within the substance of the 
cactus have been removed, so as to make the cactus very excellent food for cattle. 



LUTHER BURBANK. T 

This will have very great value in the arid regions. Some cacti lose the thorns on 
the plant but retain them on the fruit; others vice versa. By crossing and extensive 
and intense selection a cactus may be improved in various ways, besides being 
deprived of thorns and of the internal spicules in six or less generations; these by 
means of cuttings may be multiplied rapidly to any extent, but the process, to be 
complete, generally takes longer. This thornless cactus should prove of very great 
value in the development of desert regions, as Arizona or Sonora, as the quality of 
food produced per acre is enormous. Its value is being already (1908) fully tested 
on a large scale near Indio, in California, and in the State of Victoria in Australia. 
It is evident that the thornless cactus can not be expected to flourish as a wild plant 
on the desert, for cattle and other browsing animals would devour it root and branch. 
Its effectiveness is as a forage plant, to be cut and thrown to cattle as green fodder. 
For this purpose it is extraordinarily abundant as to quantity, and at the same time 
most excellent as to quality, having a high nutritive value, exceeding in this respect 
most or all of the grasses. 

" Incidentally, in this connection, the edible fruit of the Opuntia ficus-indica or 
'Barbary fig,' which has been long cultivated in southern Europe and northern 
Africa, has been greatly improved under selection. This plant was originally a native 
of tropical America, but has been long grown in the gardens of Spain, Italy, Morocco, 
and Algiers, and the yellow and red 'figue de barbare' may often be found in the 
Paris markets. 

"Burbank has now (1908), when this interpolated page is written, upward of 500 
kinds of edible cactus, with fruit yellow, crimson, and green, some with the flavor of 
Rocky Ford cantaloupe, others with the characteristic quality of peach, plum, and 
pomegranate. These fruits are extremely grateful to the palate. They are borne in 
enormous profusion. They are ripe at all times of the year and they bear transporta- 
tion perfectly. All they lack is a reduction in the too large number of the small and 
stony seeds. AMien this change is made, as can be readily done in a few more selected 
crossings, no fruit of California shows so much promise as this. As every new seedling 
is a new variety, as is the case with the apple and the potato, there is no visible limit 
to the possible range of improvement in the flavor of the fruit or the abundance of the 
desired crop. The dehorning of the cactus is perhaps economically the greatest of 
Mr. Burbank's achievements. Next to this in time will rank the enlargement and 
perfection of the cactus fruit." 

The following letters bear upon and show what has been accomplished and ould 
be accomplished by a successful propagation of this spineless food cacti. 

San Francisco, Cal., March 12, 1912. 
Hon. Joseph T. Robinson, 

HouM of Representatives, Washington, D. C. 

Sir: There is pending before your committee House bill 20477. This bill provides a 
method whereby Mr. Luther Burbank may experiment with his spineless cactus on 
Government lands which are at present worthless, and should his experiments prove 
successful, purchase not to exceed 12 sections at the minimum Government price. 

Mr. Burbank is in many respects California's first citizen and must be considered 
among the great men of the United States. His work in the development of new 
varieties of fruits and flowers is monumental, and represents an investment of 40 years 
of his life and nearly a quarter of a million dollars of his own money. Hugo De Vries, 
of the University of Amsterdam, and the greatest botanist in the world to-day, says 
that "in all Europe there is no one who can even compare with Luther Burbank" and 
that the "fruits and flowers of California are less wonderful than the fruits and flowers 
that Mr. Burbank has made. He is a unique, great genius." 

Mr. Burbank has neither the time nor inclination to devote his energies to the 
commercializing of his products. He is content to receive a simple livelihood and 
to bestow ungrudgingly the benefits of his labor upon mankind. He has never asked 
nor received recognition at the hands of this Government. 

Congressman Hayes has seen the spineless cactus growing at Santa Rosa and can 
testify as to its merits. Data concerning this cactus can be found in his speech on 
page 2889 of the Congressional Record for March 2, 1912. 

Our experiments have shown that the cactus has a food value well in advance of the 
cheaper grades of cattle food; that it is a successful drought resistant, a prolific bearer, 
exceedingly cheap to raise and harvest, requiring no irrigation or replanting, and but 
little cultivation, and that it is a succulent food always available. 

Of this cactus Mr. Burbank says: "It is better than my potato, plus all the novelties 
that I have introduced." 



s 



LUTHER BUEBANK. 



I am writing to you as Mr. Burbank's attorney, in his behalf. I do not believe 
there will be any serious opposition to this measure; but I am afraid that unless atten- 
tion is called to it it may be lost sight of in the large amount of business that comes 
before each Congi-ess. 

While this is in the form of a private bill, I believe that in reality it is a public 
measure which will result in large benefit to the southwestern portion of the United 
States as demonstrating a method whereby much of its present worthless lands may be 
made profitable. 

Yours, very sincerely, Fredk. S. Wythe. 

San Francisco, Cal., May 18, 1912. 
Hon. John E. Raker, 

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir: Last month the Committee on Public Lands reported favorably on 
House bill 23043, permitting Luther Burbank, of this State, to demonstrate the value 
of his spineless cactus, at his own expense, on nonirrigable and semiarid Government 
land, giving him an option to purchase not to exceed 12 sections of the same. 

I am writing to you to see just what possibility there is of this bill being favorably 
acted upon before the adjourniuent of this session of Congress. I have reserved 
150,000 slabs of spineless cactus for this purpose. These slabs alone are worth between 
$10,000 and $20,000, being something in excess of seven carloads. I have also made 
tentative arrangements to spend about $10,000 in this experiment. The proper time 
to plant the cactus is in the months of June, July, August, and September. Conse- 
(juently a failure on the part of Congress to act on this bill will mean considerable 
inconvenience and the loss of a year's time. 

I have already written to you at some length as to the merits of the spineless cactus 
and of this bill, and I sincerely hope that you will do what you can to see that the 
matter, having progressed so far, does not drop from sight. 

Thanking you for your consideration in this matter, I am, 

Yours, very truly, Fredk. S. Wythe. 



Newcastle, Cal., March 12, 1912. 
Hon. John E. Raker, M. C, 

Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir: There is a bill before the House of Representatives, No. 20477, intro- 
duced by Congressman E. E. Hayes, February 20, 1912, looking toward granting 
Luther Burbank, our California plant wizard, a tract of land for a term of years, for 
the purpose of developing more thoroughly the spineless cacti for food products. 
Many of your constituents are highly interested in this development. You probably 
are as familiar with Burbank as I am, and when we take into consideration what he 
has done for the world in the improvement of potato vines, trees, and plants, with 
practically no support or compensation, we think that the Government would do well 
to recognize his genius in this work by giving hini something substantial. 

As I understand the bill, he is to go upon the wild desert-like land, often rated 
without much value, and that he shall have the free, reserved right to develop the 
spineless cactus plant, that the world may be benefited thereby, and even more so 
than Luther Burbank himself. Further, that at the end of a term of years he shall have 
the right to purchase at Government price the land that he has so developed. 

As one of your constituents, and, as I believe, in behalf of thousands of others, I 
would most earnestly ask that you assist in getting that bill out of the hands of the 
committee and before Congress, and do all that you can to press the passage of the bill 
as speedily as possible. 

As our Government will only be out the use of what is likely to be an unproductive 
part of its domain for this number of years, we believe that it will be the gainer in the 
end, as he will naturally develop that class of land in a way for settlers to take hold 
of it more vigorously than heretofore . 

The food product of the cacti has been demonstrated to be of great value, especially 
to the stock-growing interests. 

Furthermore, we believe that Luther Burbank is deserving of this concession on 
the part of the Government. 

Trusting that the bill may be passed as written, I am. 

Your constituent, Geo. D. Kellogg. 



LUTHEE BURBANK. 9 

San Francisco, March 14, 1912. 
Hon. John E. Raker, 

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: My attention has been directed to the pending of a bill (House bill 
20477) before the Committee on the Public Lands giving an opportunity to Mr. Luther 
Burbank, at his own expense, to experiment with and demonstrate the utility of the 
spineless cactus. I beg to present that if this matter proves a success, as it should, 
the valuable results arising therefrom can hardly be overestimated. It will, if suc- 
cessful, give a great value to lands now worthless and afford fodder for the further 
development of the cattle industry, which is a growing necessity in our country. I 
have personally thought so well of the spineless cactus as to intend to put out that 
plant on our ranches in California. It would seem to me to be a representative duty 
of every western Congressman to urge and support the passage of this bill. 
Yours, very truly, 

W. Mayo Newhall. 



Modesto, Cal., March 14, 1912. 
Hon. John E. Raker, 

House of Representatives. Washington, D. C. 
My Dear Mr. Raker: There is pending before the Committee on Public Lands 
a bill (House bill 20477) providing a means whereby Luther Burbank may, at his own 
expense, experiment with spineless cactus on semiarid and practically worthless lands 
in this State and Arizona, and should his experiments prove successful, purchase 12 
sections or less of these lands at the minimum Government price. 

I believe such a measure will prove of great benefit to the ultimate utilization of the 
arid lands of the State, and is indeed a very small recognition of the work of Mr. 
Burbank. 

I most sincerely hope that it will be possible for you to use your influence to secure 
the passage of this measure at this present Congress. 

Very sincerely, L. L. Dennett. 



San Francisco, Cal., March 11, 1912. 
Hon. John E. Raker, 

House of Representatives , Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir: There is pending before the Committee on the Public Lands a bill (House 
bill 20477) providing a means whereby Luther Burbank may, at his own expense, 
experiment with spineless cactus on semiarid and practically worthless lands in this 
State and Arizona, and should his experiments prove successful, purchase 12 sections 
or less of these lands at the minimum Government price. 

I believe such a measure will prove of great benefit to the ultimate utilization of 
the arid lands of the State, and is indeed a very small recognition of the work of Mr. 
Burbank. 

I therefore urge that you do all that you can to secure the passage of this measure 
at this present Congress. 

Thanking you in advance for your attention to this, I am, 

Yours, very sincerely, C. B. Penkins. 

It has been said of Mr. Burbank that his actual gifts to the race are beyond com- 
pensation and can not be estimated in millions of dollars or even in the great state 
of advancement of man's physical comfort and welfare. 

And again, speaking of this man and his great work, it has been said, "The laborer 
is worthy of his hire, and Mr. Burbank should reap abundantly the rewards of his 
indefatigable persistence and potent investigations." 

o 



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